Attorneys

Hon. Laura E. Drager (Ret.)

Judge Drager is a member of the firm’s matrimonial and family law practice group, where she specializes in mediation, arbitration, and settlement negotiations and serves as a special master. She is a certified mediator, certified by the Center for Divorce Mediation and Training for matrimonial and family law matters and by the American Arbitration Association for civil litigation matters.

Judge Drager served in a dedicated matrimonial part in Manhattan Supreme Court for 20 years. She presided over 5,000 contested matrimonial cases involving issues of equitable distribution, maintenance, child support, and custody.

Judge Drager is a member of the Statewide Office of Court Administration’s Matrimonial Practice and Advisory Committee, a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Family Law Section, a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association’s Matrimonial Law Section, and a director of the New York Women’s Bar Association.She was an adjunct professor at New York Law School for 15 years, and has lectured extensively on matrimonial and family-law issues.

Prior to serving in a matrimonial part, Judge Drager servedin the criminal term parts of the Manhattan Supreme Court and Manhattan Criminal Court. Before being appointed to the bench by the late Mayor Ed Koch, she was Chief of the Rackets Bureau in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, an Assistant District Attorney in the Sex Crimes Unit and the Trial Division of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and an associate at Proskauer Rose.

Education

University of Rochester (B.A.)
Columbia University School of Law (J.D.)